Games › Puzzle Platformer › Puzzle Platformer + Female Protagonist
Should I ship a Female-Led Puzzle Platformer?
Puzzle Platformer + Female Protagonist
Of 167 developers who shipped a Female-Led Puzzle Platformer in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 288 more are announced, ×3.1 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 3 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $2.2k, ×4.5 the market's $480 for a 3 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $520k, ×1105 the market median. Revenue is flat on the market; 288 games are announced against 93 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $419 (exactly $419) |
|---|---|
| Median | $2.2k (exactly $2,156) |
| Top 25% | $18k (exactly $17,991) |
| Top 5% | $525k (exactly $524,738) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 167 |
| Released games | 739 |
| Announced | 288 |
| Effort | 3 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | High |
| Typical price | $4.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue flat on the market, supply 20% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 14%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is high: the lowest rating among its tags.
- Puzzle Platformer
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
- Female Protagonist
- effort 3 / 10 · high · effort 3 sits in the high band
What it takes
- Effort
- 3 / 10 · small 2D action, light systems
- Systems
- Puzzle Platformer; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Adventure, Puzzle, Platformer
- Price point
- $4.99 typical · top 25% priced $19.99 or above
- Art
- 5 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Cute, Story Rich, 2D
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $19.99 or above; the middle game at $4.99.
The top 10 games average 95% positive over 98,955 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $420. 8 in 10 of the 126 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 288 games are announced against 93 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.1 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Puzzle Platformer with a different setting or mood, ranked by verdict then median.
- + RomanceFair
- + Inventory ManagementFair
- + Life SimFair
- + SimulationFair
- + Grid-Based MovementFair
- + SokobanFair
- + LovecraftianPoor odds
- + Co-op CampaignPoor odds
- + MetroidvaniaPoor odds
- + SwordplayPoor odds
- + Split ScreenPoor odds
- + Hack and SlashPoor odds
Comparable games
It Takes Two 2021 · $262M 
Split Fiction 2025 · $118M 
Portal 2 2011 · $117M 
Celeste 2018 · $79M 
Portal 2007 · $52M | Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | It Takes Two | older | $39.99 | 218,492 95% | 6.6M | $262M (exactly $262,124,852) | Hazelight Studios |
| | Split Fiction | $49.99 | 78,378 97% | 2.4M | $118M (exactly $117,543,487) | Hazelight Studios | |
| | Portal 2 | older | $9.99 | 390,412 98% | 12M | $117M (exactly $117,006,476) | Valve |
| | Celeste | older | $19.99 | 132,072 97% | 4.0M | $79M (exactly $79,203,578) | Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Ga… (Maddy Makes Games Inc., Extremely OK Games, Ltd.) |
| | Portal | older | $9.99 | 173,594 98% | 5.2M | $52M (exactly $52,026,122) | Valve |
 | GRIS | older | $14.99 | 83,857 96% | 2.5M | $38M (exactly $37,710,493) | Nomada Studio |
 | Little Nightmares | older | $19.99 | 52,184 94% | 1.6M | $31M (exactly $31,294,745) | Tarsier Studios |
 | Mirror's Edge™ Catalyst | older | $19.99 | 14,078 79% | 422k | $8.4M (exactly $8,442,577) | DICE |
 | OPUS: Echo of Starsong - Full Bloom Edition | older | $24.99 | 8,722 96% | 262k | $6.5M (exactly $6,538,883) | SIGONO INC. |
 | Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft | older | $29.99 | 6,877 85% | 206k | $6.2M (exactly $6,187,237) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics |
 | Neva | $19.99 | 9,343 93% | 280k | $5.6M (exactly $5,602,997) | Nomada Studio | |
 | Echoes of the End: Enhanced Edition | $39.99 | 1,484 78% | 45k | $1.8M (exactly $1,780,355) | Myrkur Games | |
 | Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered | $29.99 | 1,507 89% | 45k | $1.4M (exactly $1,355,848) | Aspyr, Crystal Dynamics | |
 | Monument Valley 3 | $14.99 | 2,155 93% | 65k | $969k (exactly $969,104) | ustwo games | |
 | Bye Sweet Carole | $24.99 | 1,039 72% | 31k | $779k (exactly $778,938) | Little Sewing Machine | |
 | Scarlet Idol | $7.99 | 2,586 66% | 78k | $620k (exactly $619,864) | 山雨工作室 | |
 | 1348 Ex Voto | $24.99 | 705 53% | 21k | $529k (exactly $528,538) | Sedleo | |
 | Planet of Lana II | $19.99 | 875 91% | 26k | $525k (exactly $524,738) | Wishfully | |
 | Succubus Successor: Delilah's Juicy Journey | $14.99 | 883 90% | 26k | $397k (exactly $397,085) | Ramen Cat Studio, 樹画祭 |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
Your address goes to Buttondown, which sends the letter, and nowhere else. Every issue has an unsubscribe link. No tracking beyond the open count Buttondown keeps.